Strange
by Suzini
Summary: A fantasy/magical book for young teenagers about Alice who belongs to another world but she doesnt know it. the only way she can lear about who she is, is through her adoptive sisters teachings.
1. Introduction to Chapter 1

The morning sunlight cast zebra-like markings across the glittering snow blanket as it shone through the sleeping trees. Berryfield Forest rested behind an old quirky little house. One light shone from a small second-floor window at the back of the house, where a girl felt she was being watched. By what however, she did not know, but whatever or whoever it was, was outside her window, motionless in the dreaming forest.


	2. Chapter 1

The girl was startled and distracted from her suspicion as her loving but surely annoying mother came barging into her room. Alice turned quickly to find her mother standing in her winter coat, boots and hat. Even though Martha looked as though she was going on a skiing holiday, she was still able to make her winter attire look classy and elegant.

"Alice sweetie, are you sure you don't want to come?" Alice was not deaf from the desperate tone in her mothers-almost pleading-voice.

"No mum, how many times do I have to tell you? I don't want a sister so why would I want to go and collect her to bring her back to _my _house?"

The last thing moody Alice Valentine wanted for Christmas this year was a sister. She didn't want to have to share half of her parents attention.

Martha knew her daughter very well, "You can get out of school today if you come!"

Alice hated school, she thought about what she'd hate more; welcoming her new sister into _her_ home or going to school to moan about the situation to Frankie and Jess. She wasn't going to take her mothers bait. "I'd rather have school thanks." She turned to check her make-up in her standing mirror. "It will be my last day without a sibling at school anyway!" she mumbled under her breath.

"Well then she'll be here when you get back from school, and remember Alice, be nice!" barked her mother as she left the room.

Alice fixed her long blonde hair into a neat ponytail before picking up her school bag and heading downstairs for whatever disgusting, supposedly eatable food her mother had prepared for breakfast. She sat in silence at the small table as she stabbed the calorific bacon on her plate. "I'm just going to get a salad or something in school." She said as she got up and left her father at the table who was oblivious to the fact that she was leaving. Alice often debated with herself if he was also oblivious to the fact that he had a daughter. He continued to read his precious newspaper as normal.

Her mother continued to eat her porridge, she didn't reply as this was the normal daily morning routine. Once the oak back door slammed she turned to her husband who was still reading in depth. "Frederick…did you even hear your daughter just walk out the front door?"

"Hmm…" mumbled Fred as he turned the page of his beloved newspaper so delicately it was as if it was made of some rare precious material.

"Arg Fred! You're getting worse dear!" Martha rose from her seat and carried her plate to the sink along with her daughters half-full plate. "You are going to need to start paying more attention to what's going on around here Hunny Bun!" Martha rarely liked to show that she was angry and covered most of her emotions with cheesy pet names.

Fred glanced up from the paper to look into his wife's hypnotising deep blue eyes-the same as their daughters-to make it look like he was listening attentively to her.

"You don't want her to think you don't like her do you?" Martha enquired as she put her arm round her husbands broad shoulders.

"I think my daughter knows I love her! It's unconditional!"

"I don't mean Alice Fred I mean your new daughter…" Fred continued to act like he didn't even know she was there. "…the girl we're welcoming into our family today?" and when Martha did display her anger it came out like a firework; quick but loud, Fred looked frozen as he stared at his paper, "FRED!" she yelled. Fred didn't flinch, he simply looked up from his paper wearing a blank expression.

Finally he spoke, "Don't worry Dear, the moment she gets here I'm a new man!" he reassured her as he got up and stooped his head to peck his small wife on the cheek lovingly. He then swiped his blazer from the coat stand and headed for work.

Once she had the house to herself Martha cleaned up after her dysfunctional family in order to make sure her house looked presentable and welcoming for the new member of the family. For having only three members in the family they made enough mess to create the illusion that there was far more with maybe even an few dogs! After wiping the last speck of dust from the TV she locked up the house and headed out to brand new black car to pick up her brand new daughter. Nervous but excited she sped down the country road kicking up the snow as she went.

"I can't believe I'm left with Supernatural Studies as an extra curricular. I wanted to join the drama club again but all the places where taken!" Complained Frankie as she and Alice made their way slowly to English that morning. "Why did my mum have to take me on that early Christmas holiday to visit Gran in Scotland?"

"Well at least your last option wasn't Shakespeare, that's what I was left with as a result of my laziness to actually make an effort to sign up for something."

Frankie stopped sudden nearly causing the rushing students behind them to crash into them. "Wait! Shakespeare is similar to drama isn't it? You just act out Shakespeare instead." As she said the word _drama_ she performed a dramatic pose. This was not unusual for Frankie.

Frankie Sands was the most dramatic person in the school, she was always picked for the leading roles in the school productions; Annie, A Midsummer Nights Dream, and she was just cast for the role of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. She was also Alice's best friend. They met when Alice was made to have a small part in a play when she first started the school two years ago to help her gain more confidence and feel part of the "family" as headmistress Mrs Hampton said. The first person to speak to her and attempt to make her feel welcome was Frankie.

"We could swap! You could take Supernatural Studies for me and I can take Shakespeare!"

It wasn't hard to hear the excitement in Frankie's voice. Alice recognised that this wasn't a question but almost a command, she knew she wasn't going to win this battle. She tried to find a reason why she couldn't swap with her. "But…"

"Shh…" Frankie interrupted elbowing her in the ribs.

Alice was taken aback but she could soon see why she had been so rudely interrupted.

Shane Morris, as tall and handsome as usual, had just turned the corner from the English corridor and was walking in their direction. He was God's gift to most of the girls in school, but to Alice he was an arrogant, stuck up Popular who cared about no one and nothing but his reputation. Alice could feel her best friend fidgeting to make herself more presentable flustered beside her. Not a hair out of place; he strode towards them with the same slight smirk that seemed to be permanently stuck on his face. The light from the window behind him shone on the back of his thick shiny charcoal hair giving the illusion that he had a halo. He glanced at them as he passed, almost as if to greet them, as he had never done before. Alice sub-consciously raised her hand to fix a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Frankie looked behind her along with another couple of admirers as he disappeared round another corner and out of sight.

"He looked at me Al' did you see that!" Frankie said more dramatic than necessary.

Alice tried to not let Frankie see that she too was slightly excited about Shane's millisecond glance in their direction. "Yes, anyway, Supernatural Studies? All the freaks will go to it, only a freak could have thought it up!" Alice threw her hands up dramatically, seeming to have taken a leaf or two out of Frankie's book, "it's obvious it wasn't thought up by a teacher."

"Please Alice, for me?" Alice knew all too well that she couldn't resist doing her friend a favour when she pouted her perfectly shaped lips and looked at her with her round green puppy-dog eyes pleadingly.

Alice thought for a moment but was already under her spell. "Fine ok, it has to be more interesting than having to endure the dead language of Shakespeare anyway."

"Thank you!" Sang Frankie as they reached their old English room which Alice always thought was too small to function as a wardrobe never mind be a place of learning.

Alice still hadn't told Frankie about the fact that she was going to have a sister at the school from now on as she didn't even want to think about herself. Maybe if she didn't think about it, it wouldn't be true. No matter what happened throughout the day Alice could think of nothing but her unwanted sister. Jess had some news about her extra curricular being something to do with Science as usual, but all Alice could think of was if there was a way Jess could use her skills to help her blow up her sister.

When lunch time came Alice decided to tell her friends about her adopted sister.

"Come on Alice it won't be that bad. She could be really cool, you might even like her and want her to be your friend." Jess was so optimistic all the time, Alice wondered how she ever became friends with her seeing as she was the most pessimistic sarcastic person on the planet, according to her mother.

Alice took a bite out of her salad sandwich. "You don't understand! Ever since I heard my parents were adopting her I feel like things have become really strange." She saw the concern spread across her friends face like wildfire. They had never heard her speak like this as she was usually a very realistic, practical person.

"What do you mean…_strange_ Alice? You never believe anything to be strange." Frankie had put down her veggie burger. She was clearly concerned as nothing could distract her from eating.

"Well as it has came closer to the time for her to come to our house…I've felt…" Alice was now finding it hard to get her words out, it was as if with every breath her throat tightened up not letting her speak the words her mind wanted rid of. "…I know it sounds stupid and paranoid but I have felt like I've been being…watched." she whispered the last word.

There was complete silence, nothing but the typical cafeteria sounds of teenagers shouting and the clunking of knifes and forks on plates.

"Paranoid is right!" Jess closed her mouth and went back to picking through her homemade sandwich discarding the things she didn't like onto a napkin. She clearly had nothing else to say on the matter.

"Al' honestly, sometimes you make me worry about you." laughed Frankie. "Like that time a few months ago you thought the Populars where witches or something!" She and Jess where now trying to choke back their giggles as they glanced at each other.

"Hey, maybe you'll enjoy the Supernatural Studies!" added Jess, the lid on their laughter snapped off as they both erupted.

Neither of them took Alice seriously, she took no notice of them, they didn't care what was going through their best friends mind, they just thought she was having an off day, or just simply being moody about the fact that she was now going to have to share her parents and her home with another girl who she didn't want to call her sister. Alice let the subject go, after all, maybe she was just being paranoid.

The bell rang after last period. The moment Alice was dreading had finally caught up with her.

Alice said goodbye to her friends and made her way down the gravel path through the forest at the back of her house. This was one of her favourite places to be when she wanted to be on her own. Winter time brought its early nightfall and Alice groaned as she saw a dim light streaming out from the room beside hers. She slowed her pace hoping that her legs wouldn't let her go any further. _It's ok Alice she's probably really nice, stop being so judgmental!_ She told herself. Suddenly there was a crack in the forest to her left, she jumped as her heart leaped into her throat as it echoed off into the distance. Turning round quickly she thought she saw a shadow moving between the calm trees, she looked at her feet to see if she'd stepped on a twig that had snapped, nothing was there. _It's ok Alice, its just your paranoia. _With a deep breath she trudged forcefully on to the forest edge. The trees where calm, still. Alice had just realised that the trees hadn't moved since winter began, there had been no wind as far as Alice could remember, this was strange. Lost in thought, Alice didn't realise that she had suddenly arrived at her creaky wooden back gate. It seemed that the gate didn't even want her to enter the house, as if it wanted to save her from the misery as it's stiffness resisted her push. After forcing her way through the gate she took a deep breath mentally prepared herself for what she was about to encounter behind the old country back door.


End file.
